Keeping Hope
by conspiracy bug girl
Summary: Futurefic. Booth's in a terrible accident. Will Brennan stay by his side or decide that its time to move on?
1. Chapter 1

Welcome back to me!! Finally posted something again! Yay! Please, give it a chance and keep an open mind! And review cause i need all the help I can get :)

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Temperance Brennan wondered if it was finally time to give up hope. Her finance had been in a coma for little over 6 months now. Was it time to get serious? To move on? But when she thought of that possibility one thing stuck out in her mind – what would she move onto? She was a heavily pregnant forensic anthropologist who had been through a tremendous amount of stress. How would she function? Would she function?

The doctors were constantly reminding her there was still a chance he would wake up. She just had to keep hope. But Brennan rationalized that hope wasn't going to help. Because, would her wishing he would wake really achieve anything? For the first days she was hysterical, yelling at the doctors to do _more._ She wanted them to help him in some way. That was there job, wasn't it? To fix things. Not leave it up to her to _hope._

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She rushed to the front counter of the emergency room, "I'm looking for Seely Booth. He was brought in a little while ago. There – there was a car accident. Oh god."

"One moment, please," the receptionist said with a small smile, before turning to her computer. Brennan tapped a heel. Then paced a lap in a small circle. Then hopped from one foot to the other. The fear engulfing her heart threatened to drown her. She was certain she'd be sick.

It had been 7.30 at night. She was in high spirits. Her dress had finally come and the florist had pulled through. Despite all her previous beliefs about marriage, she was positively radiant about the coming day. Then, she had picked up the phone to hear Cullen's voice.

"Hello Temperance," she was slightly startled at his use of her first name.

"Oh, Director Cullen, I'm sorry I haven't got the case file back yet. I was craving gherkins today and spent half an hour at the supermar-"

He had cut her off.

"Temperance, it's Booth,"

She had groaned.

"He's going to be late again, isn't he? Could you inform him that if he's not here by tea time I'll lock him out?"

A pause, then.

"Temperance. Seelys at the hospital."

She had sunk to the floor, back against the wall.

"What?" whispered. "How?"

"Car accident."

"Is he – is he going to be all right?" she was bordering on losing it. "I mean, he's fine. Right?"

"Not really," a inhalation. "Temperance, he's in emergency. Doctors are operating. Their not certain he'll make it."

Brennan thought she'd pass out.

"Oh no,"

Now, here she was, dazed and only faintly aware of her surroundings. She could here sniffles of young children, still in their school clothes, holding broken arms. She could hear moans from people clutching their stomachs. She could here screams from the critical patients being wheeled in, covered in blood.

Suddenly, there was a hand on her shoulder. Jumping, she pivoted, coming face-to-face with Director Cullen. In an unnatural and over-bearing wave of emotion, Brennan threw herself into his arms and started to sob.

"Where is he? Whats happening?"

"He's still in surgery," he lead her to a chair.

"What happened?"

"Far as we can tell, he and Agent Brown were pursuing a suspect from their recent rape case down James st. The suspect tried to over-take a car and we are gathering that he didn't see the oncoming truck. He died on impacted. Booth's car slammed into the reckage."

Temperance inhaled and wiped at the tears on her cheeks.

"Brown?"

"Has a concussion and a few fractured ribs. The driver's side took most of the impact," when Cullen looked at Brennan she could see the look of pain in his eyes. He and Booth were close. They had more than a simply boss-agent relationship. They trusted and respected each other. "There keeping Brown under observation for several days."

At that moment a doctor came in the waiting room and zeroed in on them. She was dressed in blood spattered scrubs and gloves. She looked to be mid to late thirties and she had flaming red hair that contrasted greatly with the bags under her eyes. She looked exhausted.

Brennan and Cullen stood.

"How is he?" Cullen asked. Brennan feared that if she opened her mouth she would be sick over the women.

"Out of danger," she replied with a sigh. Brennan almost collapsed in relief. She grasped Cullen's arm and did a uncharacteristic hop.

"He's ok. Did you here that? He's ok,"

"There is ... complications," the doctor continued. Brennan's heart sunk. "He flat-lined several times on the operating table and is still in a critical condition."

"What ...," she stopped. She was unable to think of something to ask. Cullen jumped in.

"What injuries has he sustained?"

"His left radius and fibula have compound fractures, as well as several ribs. That means ..."

"Broken arm and leg," Brennan jumped in, dumbing things down for Cullen.

"Yes, one of the ribs ended up in his lung," Brennan felt the air leave her. "But we stitched it up. He'll need help breathing for a while but that should be ok."

"Ok, ok, that's ok," Cullen said.

"There is also the possibility of some brain damage ..."

A long explanation about effects and repercussions, half a box of tissues and a very wet blouse later, the two doctors and the director were heading up to the ICU ward.

Brennan was certain she would pass out. Walking into the room, not knowing what to expect, she thought there was no way she could cope with all this drama. But she somehow managed to stay on her feet. The site that greeted her was unbelievable.

Seely Booth had always been a firestorm of energy. He was always talking, paced, tapping, shifting. He couldn't sit still for a moment. But know, lying in the hospital bed, he looked weak and fragile.

His eyes were closed and his breathing ragged. He was pale beyond belief, even the 100-times-bleached hospital sheets looked dark. There was a white cast around both his leg and arm and bandages on his chest and head. The magnitude of cuts and bruises was unbelievable.

"Can I?" Brennan asked, unable to take her eyes of her broken finance.

"Sure," the doctor replied. Brennan walked over to his side and, dodging the boob-trap-like-creation of tubes connecting him to various machines, took his hand gently in his. After a moment she spoke.

"When will he wake up?" she asked, in barely more than a whisper.

"Well, we've done all we can. Its up to him," the doctor said.

"Come on, Seely," she begged. "Come back to me. We're getting married in a week, for Pete's sake." The tears began to flow.

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She came to the hospital almost everyday. Except when she had morning sickness with a bad sense of time of day. Physically, he had healed. The superficial wounds were gone and the fractures healed. The damaged lungs were getting better. But mentally, nothing had changed. Occasionally he had dreams but that was it.

She was worried.

Was her child going to grow up without a father? It was due soon. She was 6 and a half months pregnant, after all.

Would she ever get to say "I do?" Twirling her engagement ring in her fingers, she thought that maybe she wasn't.

Brennan knew that there was nothing to do but wait. And wait. And keep hope.

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Thats the end! BTW I have NO IDEA which side of the road you people in America drive on. lol I think its opposite to us (so right side, which is creepy) but I dont gamble. Also! I am not a doctor, nor am I pregnant, have been pregnant or will be pregnant! I am 14 years old so forgive me and correct me if I have a mistake!! Cheers! 


	2. Chapter 2

_Cause you asked so nicely ...BTW the tea time is like dinner :) sorry for the confusion!_

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Temperance had lifted Booth's warm, IV connected hand to her large stomach.

"See, she's kicking," She said, forcing a smile. "She does that a lot."

Removing her unresponsive finance's hand from her belly, she held it tightly in hers.

"And we went had an ultrasound today, and the doctor said she's developing well," Brennan breathed deeply. "And that the ... stress ... of recent months hasn't effected her at all."

Watching his chest rise and fall, she was silent for a moment. The doctors said it was a good idea to talk to him. To tell him what was happening, keep him up to date. She didn't see the point. Was it helping?

"I need to pee," she said out loud. That was proof. No one had registered what she had said. Sighing, Brennan got out of her chair and started to go into the adjoining restroom.

At that moment, Seely Booth's right hand twitched.

Brennan gasped and ran towards the bed.

"Seely? Can you hear me Seely? Please say you can," she cried, grasping his hand again. The doctors had rated the come, on the Glasgow Coma Scale as moderate, meaning he responded to pain and occasionally uttered insensible words, but he hadn't done anything voluntary thus far.

Letting go of his hand, Brennan reached up to push the doctor-summoning button. Another movement caught her eye. Seely's fingers moved slightly to the left and, what Brennan assumed the movement was, scratched his leg.

Tears sprang into her eyes. "Thank god. Thank you, thank you Seely."

At that moment a doctor came in.

"He moved, Doctor, he moved," she was crying and laughing. "I'm certain of it."

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"Rebbecca, hi," Brennan clutched the telephone tightly, twisting the cord. She wondered how many people had done the same actions before her? Standing here, informing loved ones of a persons serious injuries, or death. "It's Temperance."

"Hey, Tempe," came her voice through the phone. "What's up?"

"It's – it's Seely,"

"Oh god, what's happened?"

"He's in hospital,"

"How bad?"

"Hes ... Rebbecca, he's in a coma."

A long silence. Then a sob. Seely, Rebbecca and herself had become very close in the past year or so. They all loved Parker and, to some degree, loved each other.

"I'm coming now. Should I bring Parker?"

"No, not yet." Brennan felt tears running down her cheeks.

"What do I tell him?" Brennan could hear the other women coming apart. "Hey, baby, how was school. By the way, your dad could die soon."

"They don't think he'll die," Brennan said, in a slightly robotic voice.

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For the next three weeks, Booth would walk up occasionally, say a name or short sentence, then fall back into unconsciousness. But this was good, the doctors told them. This was an amazing improvement.

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Seely Booth felt as though there was a hazy around his brain. Slowly, he felt the world start to seep through and flood into his thoughts. Slowly, he opened his eyes.

'Arghh," he thought. 'Too bright.'

Closing his eyes, he considered curling back up into the corner of his mind he'd been hiding in for a long while, then heard a voice.

"Bren, did he just open his eyes?"

"I think he did. Ange, I think he did."

"Your babies gunna have a daddy, sweetie."

"I know, oh my god, I know."

Bones? Angela? A baby? At that moment, Booth felt an overwhelming urge:

"Kara," he sighed.

"What? What did he say? Do you know a Kara?"

"Seely, babe, what did you say?"

Starting to drift off into unconsciousness again, he murmured,

"Kara Booth,"

"Bren, I think he just named the little girl in your stomach."

"Kara," Brennan said as Booth's eyes fluttered once more than closed.

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_:) I was gunna leave it as a oneshot (cause I'm lazy) but the TV is in for repairs and you all asked so polietly so now this is a mutilchapter story :) BTW I wasn't sure about Kara as the name. It was gunna be that, Sara or Anya (cause I adore those names) but I eventually chose it. I shoulda asked you guys what you wanted .. oh well. :) Cheerio!_


	3. Chapter 3

Nice long chapter ... yes, I know I should be studying ...

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Confused, disorientated and stiff, Seeley Booth opened his eyes slowly and surveyed his surroundings. He was lying on a thin, uncomfortable bed. He could hear a faint beeping somewhere on his right. An IV ran from his left arm.

Temperance Brennan sat in the chair beside him.

Gently he reached out and touch her hand. Her head rose quickly and she looked at him closely.

"Seeley?" Since when did she call him by his first name? "Seeley, can you hear me? Talk to me, sweetheart." Since when did **she** call **him** sweetheart?

"Why am I in a hospital? What happened?"

"Oh thank god, you're fully awake this time," tears came to her eyes and she hugged him tightly. "I've waited so long. They said you mightn't come back. Thank you so much!"

They embraced for several moments before Brennan pulled away. She was smiling more than he remembered every seeing her before. Then her grin dropped when she took in his bewildered facial expressions.

"Seeley, do you know who I am?" Brennan hoped the possibility of memory loss wouldn't reach all the way back to before they met.

"How could I forget?" Booth's smiled at her a took her hand. "You're Bones."

She hadn't hear anyone call her that in a long time. Tears started to flow again and she hugged him once more.

"What happened? I don't remember," Booth whispered into her hair.

"You were in an accident," she replied, her voice smothered by the bleached white hospital gown Booth wore. Pulling back, Brennan started to explain but stopped when she noticed him noticing her swelled stomach. She was now 7 months pregnant. His mouth was open in a fish-like expression.

"Oh," was all Brennan said. Booth's eyes flicked to her hand and he saw an engagement ring.

After a moment, Booth forced a smile, "Congratulations." He said softly.

"What?"

"Your baby and your engagement," he gestured to her stomach. "He's a very lucky guy."

It sunk in to Brennan's mind at that moment. He didn't remember that they were together.

"Seeley, **you're** the lucky guy. **You're** the father..."

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"Tempe?"

"Mmmm?" Brennan mumbled, snuggling closer into Booth's vast chest. It was 9.30, neither of them had to work and the bed was warm from the sunlight streaming threw the window. Everything was perfect.

"Will you marry me?" He pulled her closer with his arm.

"Seeley, I ..."

"It's okay," Booth smiled, the question had come out of no where. "You can say no, if you want."

"That's the thing. I don't want to say no."

"You don't?"

"No," she laughed. "I mean yes. Yes, I will marry you, Seeley Booth."

He sat up, the bed sheets pooling around his waist, and hugged her tightly.

"Really? You'll marry me?"

"Yes, I love you," she sighed.

"I love you too,"

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"But," stuttered Booth. "How? What? When? Why?"

"I think you left out 'who' and 'where,'" she said with a laugh. He was so cute we he was confused. "We got to together after Ange and Jack ran out of the chapel on their wedding day."

"Angela and Hodgins are together?" Booth looked lost. At that moment, it sunk in how much he couldn't recall.

"Babe, what's the last thing you remember?"

Booth thought hard, his mind muddled by the medication. "Uhhh, Hodgins and you getting taken by the gravedigger."

A stunned pause.

"Seeley, that was over a year ago. It's 2008 now."

"Oh..." Booth sat for a moment, trying to find where the last year had got too.

Brennan grasped his hand. "The doctors said it could happen. They said you might have memory loss for a while. But it won't be permanent. Hopefully."

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Hodgins and Angela had just fled from their wedding, running away to get married somewhere no one knew their names. The guest were confuzzled. The priest was confuzzled. Booth and Brennan were confuzzled. Everyone was confuzzled. Moments later, after the shock wore off, Brennan turned to Booth.

"What do we do now?"

Neither of them had the answer. For a moment they stared until Brennan reached out and pulled Booth into a passionate kiss.

The guests started to cheer. They had come to see two people making out and they had got what they paid for.

Brennan pulled away after several moments of bliss. Giggling, her and Booth hugged then went down the aisle to see where their friends had got to. Zach found himself swept into a kiss by tall, blond and stunning women. Maybe he wouldn't leave for Iraq after all ...

Outside the chapel, Brennan and Booth watched as Angela waved to them from the back of Hodgins' red Ferrari.

"Go do the horizontal mambo, guys," Angela yelled. "As a wedding gift to me!"

Little did she know, they had already decided that was the perfect plan for the rest of the night.

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"So, let me get this straight," Booth looked overwhelmed. "Hodgins and Angela ran out of their wedding then you pashed me? We dated for five months then I proposed?"

He looked at her uncertainly. She nodded. "Don't you think that was a little soon?"

Brennan laughed, "it was very spur of the moment. You didn't even have a ring. Very much a 'Hmm, I feel like asking her too marry me' moment."

Booth laughed. "Okay, then three months later we conceive ..."

"Kara,"

"Kara. Two weeks after that I have the accident."

"Yes," Brennan shuddered. It was still terrible to recall.

"And now I've been in the coma for almost seven months? And you're seven and a half months pregnant?"

"Correct,"

"Wow, sounds exciting."

"It was," Brennan held his hand again.

"Damn, I wish I remembered it."

"Well, how about I tell you about it?"

"I'd like that."

"Well lets go from our first "date" ..."

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"Well, this is ... nice," Brennan said with a laugh. Her and Booth were sitting at his kitchen table, eating burnt sausage rolls.

"Don't you mock me, Miss Brennan," Booth looked affronted. "You were the one who insisted on getting kidnapped."

"I didn't do it on purpose," she retorted, with a smile. "You know I would never purposely sabotage own first date."

"Do you realize how long it took me to get that reservation?"

"I'm sorry, Seeley,"

He smiled.

"You called me Seeley."

"Excellent job for pointing that out," Brennan replied. Then took a bite out of the sausage roll. It burnt her tongue. "Oww."

"What was it?"

"Ooo, it's hot," she gestured for a glass of water. Quickly, Booth got out of his seat and rushed to the sink. Grabbing a cup out of the cupboard, he placed his fingers under the water and let it run until it was cold. After a few moments he started to fill up the glass. He turned to look at Brennan for a moment, who was still making "burnt tongue" gestures, and didn't realize the cup had overflowed until he felt the liquid on his fingers.

Grabbing the glass and start back to Brennan, spilling most of the glass on his shirt, only to realize she was sitting quietly.

"Doesn't hurt anymore," she said, smiling at the flustered agent. "But thanks for the water."

Booth rolled his eyes and flopped to his chair.

"Sorry, Bon- Tempe, this is a disaster,"

"Okay, so it's not a delicious meal and a beautiful Italian restaurant surrounded by candles and music but the thought was there," she smiled and took his hand. "And think about it. The luck we're having today, we would've probably burnt the place down by know."

"You always know the right thing to say, don't you?"

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"Sounds ... destructive," said Booth after Brennan had finished her recount.

"It was! We ended up with a shattered painting from a corkscrew gone awry, a large burn mark on the table from a candle and having sex on the couch because the window in your room was open and it rained all over the bed."

Booth laughed. It sounds so good to hear after so long.

"We're meant to be together, obviously,"

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Wow that was a long chapter :) I didn't realized until now. Anyway review and tell me what you think. BTW I don't update if I don't get reviews so ... :) 


	4. Chapter 4

I finally updated :) sorry about the wait! Enjoy:

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Booth looked down at the baby in his arms. He didn't remember that he and Brennan were tpgether, nor that they were having a baby together. But now, holding the tiny little girl, he felt overwhelmed with love for it. 

"She's beautiful, Tempe," he said, looking over to his...well, he didn't really know what to call her. They weren't exactly married, and he didn't remember that they were dating so he was at a loss at what she was to him. But, looking over at her in the hospital bed, pale and exhausted, he felt that this was right. That they were meant to be together like this. He walked closer to Brennan and placed the baby in her arms. "Kara. It's a perfect" he said.

"You named her that," she smiled, pulling the blanket away from her little girls face.

"I did?"

"Yes. While you were in the coma. You named her Kara. Didn't I tell you that?" she said, smiled up at him. He kissed her on the lips. Yes, that felt right.

"No, you didn't, Tempe. Even when I'm unconscious with the possibility of never waking up again, I can still make big decisions," he laughed softly. "It's a beautiful name."

"It is. Kara Booth," she looked at the baby again.

"She looks just like you," Booth said, touching the baby's head softly.

"But she's got your eyes," she replied. They both smiled at the baby girl. After several minutes silence he noticed that she'd fallen asleep. Removing his daughter gently from her arms, he moved over to the hospital window, cradling her. He looked out at the city, the sky dark blue and the lights glimmering. It was beautiful, just like the baby girl in his arms.

"Kara, you might not know this, well you defiantly don't know this, but I'm your dad," he explained to her. "But, you see, the thing is...I don't really remember anything about the last year or so, so I don't really know either. It kinda feels like I woke up one morning and someone said 'this is who you are. You love this woman and you have a daughter.' It's strange and it doesn't make a lot of sense. But then, I also have this feeling that it makes heaps of sense. That this - me, you and Tempe – is right. That it fits, you understand? I feel like we belong together. And do you think that matters, Kara? Do you think we can still have that spark, even if I have no idea how we feel so much in love?" The baby kicked softly and placed her hand in her mouth. "That's what I thought, Kara. I think it's possible. I mean, if we love each other that much...It's defiantly possible."

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"Welcome home," said Brennan, gesturing around the apartment.

"Wait, I live with you?" Booth asked.

"Yes, we figured that my apartment was big enough to house both of us," she watched as he looked around, taking it all in.

"Wow. We really are together," he looked as though it had just begun to sink in.

"Yeah, we are," Brennan sat on the couch, placing a hand to her large stomach. "I hope you'll remember one day."

"Me too, Bones."

"Come here," she said suddenly. Booth rushed to the couch, thinking something was wrong with his girlfriend/wife/partner or whatever she was to him now.

"What is it?" Saying nothing, her grabbed his hand and placed it on her stomach. She watched in delight as his face morphed into a huge smile, as he felt his daughter kicking inside her mother's stomach. She laughed as he placed his ear on her stomach.

"I feel her kicking," he said, in delight. "It's amazing."

"It is, isn't it?" Brennan agreed. "Obviously, this was the first time I'd felt anything like it, so when she first kicked I was astounded."

"I love you, Temperance," he said, placing a hand back on her large tummy.

"Really? Even though you don't remember?"

"Of course," he replied. "This feels so right."

"I agreed, Seeley," she smiled and rested her head on his shoulder. "I love you too."

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Sorry it's so short. I'm focusing on updating my other story He Makes Her Laugh today too. I'll wite anyother one for this story later. Tell me what you want to see happen!! 


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